Land Securities eyes Leeds shopping centre

Land Securities is closing in on being able to announce the start of a £650m
shopping centre development in Leeds.

The Trinity Quarter project would be the first major retail development to start since the financial crisis and its launch would be a major vote of confidence in the UK economy.

Land Securities Group

Land Securities said in a third-quarter update on Tuesday that in the final three months of 2009 it concluded a number of pre-lets with retailers which have pushed the company towards a threshold that would trigger the start of the development.

Francis Salway, chief executive, said the company was "not putting a precise timescale" on when it hoped to be in a position to launch the development, but "expects" it to be this year.

He added: "We are in discussions with retailers that would get us to our threshold."

Mr Salway would not reveal how much of the 1m sq ft centre the property developer wants to pre-let before construction starts, and would only describe the retailers it has signed up so far as of "high quality".